Hope Is Lost: Season One
by machinimamage102
Summary: [EP1 STARTED] After abandoning Clementine, AJ, Kenny, and Jane, Mike must cope with the guilt of that situation. Trekking through the harsh winter alongside Bonnie and Arvo, Mike meets new friends an enemies as him and his group make an effort to reach the warm state of Texas. (Multiple POVS, contains OCs, Inspired by "Into The Fray" by Thunderslate, coming from the same community)
1. (EP1) Chapter 1

**EPISODE 1: KEEP ON MOVING**

**Chapter 1**

**Mike**

"Oh god, Clem! What the fuck did you do?! Clem?! What did you do?! Clem? Clem?!"

Mike didn't stop running. He knew that Kenny would be on him in a matter of seconds, no matter who shot Clementine. He looked back, seeing Jane crouched by Clem's side and Kenny pointing his gun out towards the traitors with a look of pure rage. Bonnie was right beside him while Arvo limped as fast as he could farther behind them. He looked back in front of him, feeling the cold wind fly passed his face. He wouldn't stop until he was away from here.

It wasn't until he came into the woods that Mike stopped to catch his breath. Bonnie and Arvo did the same. Bonnie leaned against a tree while Arvo was bent over with his hands on his knees.

Mike was able to catch his breath and calm down, feeling that they were a good enough distance away from Kenny and the others.

"Wh-Why did you do that?!" Bonnie exclaimed, referring to Arvo's actions while still catching her breath. Mike looked up at Arvo, only seeing him with a look of regret on his face. He still had the rifle in his hands, the same one that he had used to shoot a little girl.

"Jesus Christ." Mike said between breaths, not knowing what to do. After another minute of silence, Arvo finally broke it.

"We need safe place. Food. Water." He said in his thick Russian accent. Mike breathed hard through his nose, looking up again.

"You just shot a little girl, man! There was no need for that!" He said, shaking his head. Arvo just frowned.

Mike leaned his head against the tree, taking it all in. He couldn't even begin to comprehend on where they could even go from here. He couldn't think straight.

"Mike, you said somethin' bout…Texas earlier." Bonnie said. Mike kept his eyes close and didn't answer.

Something had to be done with Arvo. He got them in this position, and now they had nothing, no supplies whatsoever. Mike took a deep breath, slowing down his heart rate. His eyes flickered back open.

"Let's just…let's just keep moving till' we find something." He said. Bonnie nodded.

Mike started to walk, and soon Bonnie and Arvo followed behind him. He gripped the gun in his hoodie pocket, ready for anything to happen.

He didn't feel so good about Arvo, but that would have to wait. They needed to find something, anything really. They wouldn't survive the night without supplies or a warmer place to stay.

…

The snow crunched under Mike's feet as he walked along with Bonnie and Arvo. He held both of his arms around his torso, desperate for any sense of warmth. Draped over his head was his gray hood to cover his ears from the cold.

Bonnie and Arvo shivered as well, and their ears were turning red. Mike noticed this, but frankly he didn't care. He didn't know what to think right now, he just had to keep moving.

"Over there!" Bonnie gasped, pointing her finger out to a small cottage at the edge of the woods.

"Yes, we can stay there." Arvo said as he started to limp towards it. Mike let his hands fall into his hoodie pocket, feeling the gun come into his hand. The three of them came up close to the cottage, and now it was time to investigate. Mike removed his small gun from the concealment of his pocket, keeping it pointed in front of him. Bonnie had a quick look of shock and some confusion. Mike took it that she probably had forgotten had had it with him.

Arvo gripped is rifle and stayed behind Mike, his gun raised just in case anything was inside. Bonnie awkwardly lagged behind a little, seeing as she didn't have a weapon like the other two.

Mike, with his gun still raised, slowly opened the front door of the cottage. The knob was cold, and the door made a creaking sound when it opened. All there was inside was darkness. The only thing that Mike could make out was a table in the middle of the room.

Mike moved in with Arvo coming after him. Arvo was more nervous than both Mike and Bonnie, seeing as he was trembling and struggling to hold onto his rifle.

Mike didn't smell any signs of rotten flesh, which meant that there were probably no walkers in hear. Walking around the room, he jumped when he felt his hip accidently hit something, knocking it over. Worriedly, Bonnie and Arvo stared at him as he crouched down and squinted to see what had fallen. It was a lantern with some wax still in the three cup holders.

"Bonnie, you still have that lighter?" Mike asked.

"Yeah" Bonnie answered, placing it in his hand when he reached out for it. After a few good tries, the flame illuminated from the lighter. Mike placed it next to the stem in the wax. First the left wax cup, then the middle, then the right one. He carefully placed it back onto the table.

"It seems safe in here." Mike whispered. Bonnie and Arvo agreed.

"The light ain't much, but It's good for one night." Bonnie stated. Arvo sa on the ground right next to the light, placing his rifle next to him and then lying down with the intention of going to sleep. Mike sighed as he took his place in a corner of the room, where it was darker. Bonnie looked at him weirdly because of this.

"I've always only been able to sleep if it's pitch." Mike answered with a chuckle to her weird look. Bonnie's face returned back to normal.

Mike sighed as he light his down, trying to fall asleep. He heard Bonnie lie down opposite of Arvo, but still close to the light of the candles. No matter how hard he tried, Mike couldn't get everything out of his head. The look on Clementine's face. The gunshot. The scream. Kenny's anger and threats. It was all his fault, he never should have abandoned them for these people.

Mike closed his eyes, but sleep never came.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Mike**

After what felt like forever, the sun finally started to rise. Mike sat up, twisting his back and then cracking his knuckles. Bonnie was standing up by the door, the morning sunlight shining on her face. Arvo sat on the ground beside the lantern checking his rifle ammo.

Mike got up off of the ground, still gripping on the small gun in his sweat shirt pocket. He had held it like that through the whole night, causing the sweat of his palm to get all over the handle. Now the handle just felt cold due to the morning air.

They exited the one – room cottage and kept on moving, with Mike in the lead. He dragged his feet across the ground, his shoulders sulking. Dark bags were visible under his eyes.

"We really gotta find some food. We ain't gonna last much longer out here." Bonnie said. Mike didn't look back at her, he just kept to himself and proceeded forward.

Soon enough, a walker came limping right towards them. Arvo spit something in Russian while Mike sighed. He walked up to it and, not wanting to waste any bullets, brought his foot up and kicked the walker square in the chest. It fell over, the snow forming the shape of its body as its back lay there.

Mike sighed. With no other options, he brought his foot up and then brought it back down on the walker's head. One stomp didn't do the trick though, so he continued. Again and again and again.

Once he was done, he sighed again and looked at his shoe with a look of disgust. Blood was now caked on his calf and ankle, while more blood was soaking his sock. Even if hygiene didn't really matter anymore, Mike hated getting that dirty, especially with blood.

The three of them kept moving, starting to pick up the pace now. Their stomachs were growling, they needed food as soon as possible. Mike's eyes stayed on the path ahead, but inside he was mentally praying to god that he would be able to eat soon.

…

Some hours passed, but nothing changed. Mike kept on walking with Bonnie and Arvo, but all they had come across was a couple of more walkers that they easily took down. Mike stopped and looked behind him, estimating that they were at least 5 miles away from where they left Kenny and the rest of the group.

It was silent, the only sound was the snow crunching under their feet, then it happened. A twig suddenly snapped from a nearby tree. Mike immediately turn his head, gripping onto his gun tighter. His eyes moved back and forth, scanning his surroundings.

"Drop the rifle!" A man barked from behind Arvo. Arvo slowly put his rifle down, then slowly backed up. A man stood there with another rifle in his hand. He was tall, having muscles on his arms. He had dark hair, with the beginnings of a dark beard on his chin. An intense look in his eyes was clearly visible.

Before either Mike or Bonnie had any time to react, three more people came out from hiding behind the surrounding trees. One was an unarmed chubby man who looked worried. The other two people were woman, one holding another rifle. The unarmed one looked as worried as the chubby man, and had dark hair and glasses resting on her nose. Cracks could be seen on the glasses. The armed woman's facial features looked similar to the armed man who had told Arvo to put his rifle down. She had dirty blonde hair.

"You! Take your hands out of your pocket!" The armed woman ordered firmly. Her voice sounded like she meant business. Mike sighed, then slowly pulled his hands out of his sweatshirt pocket. His small gun could be seen now, dropping low in his pocket. The armed noticed that.

"Empty it!" She ordered, referring to the pocket. Not having any other choice, Mike slowly took out his small gun and dropped it to the ground, defeated.

Bonnie wasn't even armed in the first place, but that didn't stop these people from checking her too. Once they were done, the chubby man asked a single question.

"What do we do with them?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Mike**

"We ain't bandits. Please." Bonnie said while sulking. Mike saw the girl who was pointing a gun at him swallow hard. Her worried eyes met Mike's for a moment.

"Where did you guys come from?" The girl with the glasses asked. The semi-muscular man sent her an uneasy look. Mike noted in his head that there was really no other choice but to tell them.

"An unfinished cabin not very far from here." He said. The four people all looked at each other. Mike noticed that the semi-muscular looked at the woman with dirty blonde hair and nodded.

"Have you…Been to a place called Wellington?" She asked. Mike felt a ping in his head set off at that name. Memories of the last couple of days trying to get their flashed through his mind.

"Yeah, we've been there. I'm sorry but…it ain't nothin' but a pipe dream. We got there after losin' so many people and…it was already burned to the ground." Bonnie lied. Mike turned to look at her. She looked at the ground in guilt.

The four people exchanged looks. The woman with the glasses had her face in her hands as the chubby man patted her back in comfort. The semi-muscular man and the dirty blonde- haired woman looked worried.

"Fuck." The semi-muscular man said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

After a long pause, the dirty-blonde haired woman spoke up. "Why should we believe you?" Arvo finally spoke.

"Please, believe us." He said in his thick Russian accent. The semi-muscular man sighed.

"Where's your proof?" he asked.

"Well, we didn't bring a souvenir." Bonnie retorted back. The man sighed and shook his head. Then he looked at his other three group members.

"We'll stay here and think about what we're gonna do now. Elizabeth, keep them at gunpoint with me." He said, referring to the dirty- blonde haired woman. She nodded. "Margo and Dave, you guys just make sure they don't try anything." He continued saying to the glasses woman and the chubby man.

Mike was brought to a tall tree along with Bonnie and Arvo. His back against the tree, Mike sighed to himself, now he was stuck with these two people while being held captive. Sure, he didn't blame these people, but still.

The dirty – blonde haired woman, Elizabeth, was beckoned over by the semi- muscular man. Keeping an eye on the three hostages, they whispered some things to each other before returning their full attention to Mike, Bonnie, and Arvo.

It was mostly quiet, the only sound being the group of four silently communicating and taking out the occasional walker that would come around. Finally after one final collaboration, they started to speak.

"Look, you don't look like very bad people. We're just being cautious, but we need to know about what Wellington was like. If it makes you feel comfortable, we'll introduce ourselves." The semi muscular man spoke. Mike, Bonnie, and Arvo just waited for him to continue.

"I'm Ryan, and this is my younger sister Elizabeth." He said, jerking his thumb to his chest and then gesturing to Elizabeth. "And that's Dave and Margo." He continued, first pointing to the chubby man and the woman with glasses. Dave nodded his head as a greeting. Mike had his arms crossed, his hands held tight onto his elbows. He took a deep breath and then exhaled, ready to take the lead of this.

"I'm Mike, and this is Bonnie and Arvo." He said, gesturing to them. Bonnie gave a friendly smile while Arvo still kept his look of nervousness.

"Nice to meet you. Now on to the point, when did you get to Wellington?" Ryan quickly said.

"Two days ago. By the time we got there it was in pieces. Ain't nothin' left but walkers all around it." Bonnie continued her lie. Mike didn't know about this, the idea of lying to these people, but it was already done.

Elizabeth gave a sad look to Ryan, who kept his head down. Margo adjusted her glasses but kept her head down too. Dave looked up in disbelief.

"We've got to be sure." Ryan said, shaking his head.

"There isn't anything left, man. You'll just be wasting time." Mike pushed more, hoping to snap them out of it. Like Bonnie said, Wellington was nothing but a pipe dream. Ryan sighed.

"Lemme…Lemme think on it. Godamnit." He said to himself, lowering his guard and then turning his back. Elizabeth kept her gun pointed at Mike, Bonnie, and Arvo just in case while whispering to Ryan about something.

"So…Wellington's really gone?" Margo spoke for the first time. Mike nodded sadly as she put her head down. Dave's eyes worriedly scanned the area around them like he was looking for something.

"Guys, what if they're following us?" He asked, putting his attention to Ryan and Elizabeth.

"They're miles away from us, I'm sure they lost interest." Ryan replied after giving Elizabeth a worried look. Mike wondered who they were talking about.

After some more moments of silence, Elizabeth finally spoke up with their decision. "We're going to keep moving forward, just in case. You guys can tag along, but we'll be keeping an eye on you." She said. Bonnie opened er mouth to counter, but she gave up and sulked. Mike then noticed the scared look on Arvo's face. He was afraid of bumping into Kenny again. There was nothing they could do about it now.

"Come, let's just get moving now." Ryan said, gripping onto his rifle tighter and then starting to move forward. Not wanting to cause any suspicion, Mike followed along with Dave and Margo. Bonnie followed right behind, and last was Arvo. Ryan waved his arm, beckoning him to follow. With one more look around, he started limping along right behind them.


End file.
